Springtime and Shadows
by perilousgard
Summary: Series of short ficlets focused on Hades/Persephone. UPDATE: Persephone visits the world above. Rated M to be safe.
1. One

**Title: **One

**Fandom: **Greek Mythology

**Pairing: **Hades/Persephone

**Rating: **T

**Prompt: **#9, Months

**Words: **681

When the long months of winter began to taper off, the imminent approach of spring wore greatly upon the king and queen of the Underworld.

To Persephone, the six months she spent with her husband felt much shorter than the six she spent with her mother in the world above. It was true that she loved her mother, and never resented the time spent in Demeter's company. But a mother was no replacement for a lover, and that was especially true of Hades.

Many years ago, when he had first taken her into his realm, Persephone had been nothing short of furious. They had hardly been on familiar terms, and suddenly he had thought that her admiration of his flower was cause for abduction. But he had not taken her simply to have his way with her and then toss her back, as her father had done with her mother. In fact, he didn't touch her at all for months, until the day that Persephone realized she was in love with him and had come of her own will to his bed.

Their love was a slow, smoldering fireball that seemed to grow infinitesimally more with each departure and return. Each half-year she spent on earth, she felt she missed him more, dreamed of him more. And each half-year she spent in the underworld, she felt they made love more, and grew only closer. It was only now, perhaps ten years after she had first become his bride, that Persephone realized that maybe they had always been the same creature, split apart for so long until Fate had brought them back together, so that they could grow back as one.

She mentioned this to her husband one night, on the eve of her next return, as they were lying in the sleepy aftermath of post-coitus. His response was a low chuckle, which sent vibrations through her as she lay on top of him. His hands slid through her golden hair.

"You are saying this because we are about to be parted again."

"No," she protested, "I am saying it because I feel like half of me is missing when I am gone from you."

"That is love, sweetheart." He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. "We are not the same. You are sunshine and all that is good; I am the darkness, the wayfarer of the dead. We could not be more opposite."

"Then tell me how it is that only you and I retain a perfect marriage," said Persephone. "Look at your brothers. Zeus has had scores of children with a number of women, goddess and mortal alike. And Poseidon cannot remain faithful to his wife, despite how he chased her. Then there is Aphrodite, who has many times over cuckolded her husband…"

Hades shrugged. "I am not like my brothers. I have never felt anything more than a passing lust for any woman other than you. I have never acted on any of these fleeting desires because I know none of them could bring me the same satisfaction."

Persephone sighed. "And yet we are the only ones who are forced to be constantly separated."

"Such was the agreement."

She shifted a little to meet his eyes. "Why can't you come up with me?"

He smiled lightly, tapping her nose. "You know the answer to that. I have work to do down here. It never stops. Unlike Zeus, I can never take a break."

Persephone suddenly laughed at the idea of him helping her to grow flowers or bless fields with her mother. She felt his hold tighten around her as her body rippled against his, and for the next hour her only thought was his name as he pleasured her.

When they were both collapsed together again, limbs tangled and damp with sweat, he broke the silence by whispering against her hair, "There is one positive thing about your leaving."

She sat up, looking at him indignantly. "Oh? What's that?" Her voice was unintentionally hostile.

He laughed, drawing her back down to him. "You always return."


	2. In the Garden

**Title: **In the Garden

**Fandom: **Greek Mythology

**Pairing: **Hades/Persephone

**Rating: **K

**Prompt: **#1, Beginnings

**Words: **1, 466

Hades only came to Olympus when he was called, and he never enjoyed it.

His presence unsettled the other gods, even his own siblings. This fact didn't bother him in the slightest; he knew he stank of death and of darkness. Who could not help but to shiver around him? Hades had simply grown used to their avoidance of him.

The main reason he kept away from Olympus was because it was his brother's realm. Zeus and Hades did not get along.

Even so, Hermes would dutifully descend into the Underworld once or twice a year to summon him up to Olympus. Because Hades was responsible for a third of the world, he was bound to go. Usually, these gatherings were utterly pointless. Short of the occasional huge mishaps between gods and mortals, or (less rarely now) a war, it was all the same inane chatter. _I don't have as many temples as I would like. The mortals take our names in vain. I want a city named after me. _

Really, he hadn't expected his brother Poseidon to be so petty. A contest between him and Athena to see whose name would be attached to a mortal city? Why did it even matter?

Hades asked for no tributes. No statues, no temples, no followers. In the end, they all came to see him anyway. In the end, they became his subjects for eternity.

It was spring on Earth when he was inevitably called to Olympus again. Hades rode out of the Underworld in his silver chariot, drawn by three black horses. It was always strange to step out of his world and feel the sun on his back. In the Underworld, it was always night. His sky forever sparkled with stars.

When he arrived on the mountain, he was halfway to the audience chamber when he noticed the girl.

She was sitting in the garden that flowed out from the palace steps, stretching into the clouds. She was alone, and couldn't have been older than seven. What was a little girl doing on Olympus?

The cloying scents of hydrangeas and daffodils choked his nose and mouth as he went down the steps. The sound of him sneezing made the girl bolt to her feet, her eyes wide and round as she whirled to face him.

"I'm not going to hurt you," said Hades immediately.

He looked carefully for the fear in her eyes, but it wasn't there. In fact, rather than running, the girl straightened her shoulders, facing him as regally as any grown goddess, and appraised him curiously. "Are you a god?"

He smiled. "Would I not have to be, to set foot here?"

"But I have never seen you," she said.

"I have never seen you either. Is this your first visit to Olympus?"

She glanced away. "Yes…"

He nodded. "That is why we've never met. But if you're here, you must be a goddess."

She shrugged, picking at a flower. As she did, Hades noticed that the petals turned toward her ever so slightly, as if she were the sun. She had power, then.

"May I see that?" he asked, nodding at the flower. She nodded and handed it to him.

Contrary to popular belief, things did not automatically wither and die in Hades' hands. He was the Lord of the Underworld, but he wasn't a harbinger of death. He simply did not have the power to create life, unlike this little girl. Hades fingered the stem of the flower thoughtfully, feeling the slight hum of new, untaught power. He was surprised to find that his fingers and arm fairly tingled with it.

"Little one, who is your mother?" he asked.

"Demeter, my lord," she answered dutifully, and Hades immediately wondered why he hadn't been able to tell right away. He could see his sister in the child's eyes, in her long, slender limbs. Her hair was the same shade of dark blonde, tumbling over her shoulders like honey. So Demeter had borne a child a few years ago. The fact didn't really surprise him. She was, after all, associated with fertility.

He handed her back the flower. "I'm sorry for so many questions, little one, but may I ask who your father is as well?"

"Oh, I just met him today!" Her eyes brightened, and she stood up taller. "Mommy told me he sees over all Olympus. I can't believe he really lives in the clouds!"

_Zeus. _Hades clenched his jaw. His brother was famous for his numerous affairs, and Hades didn't respect him any more for it. He often felt sorry for Hera, their sister who had been forced into being the wife of Zeus. No wonder Demeter didn't want their golden child in the audience chamber; Hera was not known to be kind to her husband's illegitimate offspring.

He broke his chain of thought when he realized that the girl was staring at the slim silver brace that encircled his arm nearly up to his elbow. At his wrist, the brace ended in a knot of a three-headed dog. Hades reflexively drew his cloak over the image of Cerberus. Would she recognize it?

"I've seen that before," the girl said.

"Oh?"

"Yes, in my dream."

Not the answer he was expecting. "Your dream?"

She nodded. "It was a dream I had a little while ago…" She got a faraway look in her eyes as she remembered. "And there was a dog with three heads. He was guarding a river."

That had to be Cerberus. Hades nodded for her to go on.

"I was going down a boat on the river. And when I passed the dog, he yipped at me. All three of the heads! They barked like they were happy to see me. And when I waved at him, he jumped in joy and it shook the entire place!" The girl giggled lightly to herself. "It really was the most peculiar thing. After all, whoever heard of a three-headed dog?"

"Who indeed," Hades murmured with a slight smile.

"Well, it was a nice dream. I think it would be fun to have a three-headed dog. I wonder if you would name all three heads? Or just call it by one name? Is it three dogs, really, or one?"

Hades shook his head, trying to hide his grin. Cerberus would probably find a friend in this little girl if she was able to die. But she was definitely a goddess—immortal. And thus she would never have to see the Underworld.

"My name is Kore, by the way," the girl said after a moment. "You didn't ask."

"Oh, forgive me, Kore," he said, sketching a bow to her. "I have forgotten my manners."

Kore laughed. "You're funny."

Just then, Hades heard a voice calling from somewhere close by. "Kore! Where have you gone!"

"I'm in the garden!" the girl sang out. She looked at Hades. "My lord, what is your name?"

He hesitated.

"Kore!" Demeter was getting closer, and Hades knew better than to let her catch him alone with her daughter.

"My lord?" She was waiting for his answer.

As soon as Demeter came into view, Hades disappeared. Where he had been standing, there was a single, white flower.

Kore stared at it. It was probably the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She reached out to pick it…

…And her mother's arms wrapped around her and scoop her up. "You silly child, didn't I tell you to stay near the fountain?"

"I got _bored_," Kore protested. "And the flowers smelled nice. I wanted to pick some."

"Well, stay where I tell you to next time." Demeter turned with her child in her arms, and her eyes fell upon the flower, which stuck out in a garden that was overflowing with color. Her cheeks paled.

"Where did that come from? Did you make that?"

"No, Mommy. I didn't make it."

"Has it always been there?"

Kore shook her head. "The god made it."

"What god?"

"The god who was here before you came."

"There was a god here? Why wasn't he in the audience chamber?"

Kore shrugged.

"Kore, my love…this is very important. What was this god's name? What did he look like?"

"He didn't tell me his name. But he was very tall and had dark hair, and very pale skin. And he was dressed in black and purple. He looked like he belonged in the night sky."

Demeter's lips grew thin. "This is why I told you to stay by the fountain. I don't want you talking to anyone without me knowing, do you understand?"

"But…"

"If you see this man again, you are to run straight to me. No questions asked!"

With that, Demeter strode forward, crushing the delicate white flower in her wake.


	3. Ghosts

**Title: **Ghosts

**Fandom: **Greek Mythology

**Pairing: **Hades/Persephone

**Rating: **T

**Prompt: **#75, Shade

**Words: **878

Persephone made her way down the gradually darkening hallway, waving her hand to extinguish the glowing crystals on the walls as she went. The palace was silent; other than Hades, who was still doing business at the Phlegethon, she was probably the only one still awake. Hades had told her that she shouldn't wait up for him, and that it would be her duty to close up the house for the night.

She paused at the end of the hall, near the massive statue that Hades had commissioned of the two of them. Persephone briefly glanced up at her marble likeness, at her cold, archaic smile. She had initially reacted very negatively to it.

"I look completely heartless!" she had protested to Hades.

He had chuckled. "Darling, we have an image to maintain. We rule the Underworld—a place that never sees the sun. The fear is implied."

Persephone had not understood then, but she thought now she was beginning to. It was necessary, at times, to steel your emotions when dealing the shades that inhabited this realm. While neither she nor Hades ultimately decided the fates of the shades, they were often appealed to before the final judgment took place. The shades were forced to tell the truth so that they would receive a just sentence for their acts in life.

Persephone was glad she wasn't a Judge. So many of the mortals were so difficult to place. The great majority of them were sent to either the Asphodel Plains or to Tartarus, though Persephone would have seen many of them to the Elysian Fields. Hades had taken her to the Fields once, and she had been quite convinced she must be on Earth. For, as he said, the sun does not shine in the Underworld.

A sudden chill in the hallway broke the goddess's chain of thought. She turned, facing the darkness. With her magic, she reached out, feeling the air blindly. She retracted it quite quickly when she realized what she was sensing, utterly shocked.

"H-how did you escape Tartarus?" she stuttered.

There was the sound of something like a sigh, and then the shade drifted out the shadows. It was a grizzled old man. In fact, Persephone recognized him. He had been sentenced to Tartarus just a few days ago for repeatedly raping and then murdering his three daughters.

"I walked out of the gates," he answered, leering.

Persephone caught her breath. "B-but…the Hundred-Handed…"

"They was busy, wasn't they?" the man cackled. "They says Tartarus is full. They is too busy tryin' to keep order."

"Too full?" she repeated. "How is that possible?"

"Too many new arrivals."

"But it's not…Tartarus can never be full…"

"Explain how I got out then, lady." The shade sidled nearer, and Persephone shivered with the chill of his presence. "Explain how I got in to Hades' palace. Explain how I am standing so close to his queen…" His ghostly breath brushed her ear and Persephone recoiled like a snake, throwing up a barrier. Angrily, the shade began to beat against it, his features warping as the monster he had been in life revealed itself in death.

Persephone closed her eyes. _Hades, _she called.

His voice came back to her after a few moments. _Yes, my love?_

_There is a shade in the palace, _she told him urgently.

Within a matter of seconds, he was at her side, causing her to drop her barrier. Persephone felt the air fairly crackle with the energy of his magic before the shade was thrust back, crying in agony as smoke rose from a burn in his chest.

"_What are you doing her_e_!_" Hades roared. Blue flame danced along his arms, crackled in his hair. Persephone took a step back to keep from getting burned herself.

The shade moaned in pain. "No room…"

"If it is crowded in Tartarus then you will just have to learn to _deal _with each other!" Striding forward, Hades caught the man around the neck. The blue flames engulfed him instantly. With an ear-splitting scream, the man disintegrated. Persephone gasped.

"Did you…" she started.

Hades shook his head. His voice was much calmer when he spoke. "No, beloved. You cannot kill what is already dead."

The spring goddess breathed out. "How did he escape?"

Her husband's eyes darkened. "I don't know, but I am going to find out."

She stepped up and rested her cool hand on his arm. It was still hot from the flames of his anger. "Hades, he said that Tartarus was full. You know we've heard the same thing about the Plains of Asphodel."

Hades' jaw stiffened, and he said nothing.

"Please, Hades, we must find out what is going on up on Earth. There has to be a reason why so many people are dying."

He wrenched his arm away. "We will _not _go to Earth!"

"The mortal world may be dying!"

"Good riddance!"

Persephone frowned. "You may not care, but I do. It has been my home much longer than this damp, gods-forsaken place."

His lip twitched slightly, but he did not look at her. "Go home, then, if that's what you want."

Persephone's eyes glinted with anger as she glared at his back. "Fine, I will," she said softly, and walked away.


	4. White World

_At the request of a reviewer, a continuation of the last chapter. :3_

**Title: **White World

**Prompt: **#61, Winter

**Rating: **K+

**Words: **1,286

Cerberus was happy to see her. His massive body shifted, going up on his hind legs as she approached. All three tongues wagged merrily at her. Persephone laughed, pressing back against the rocks behind her so that he wouldn't crush her when his front legs came back down.

"Shh, Cerberus, quiet down," she whispered as the three heads yipped at her. Stepping forward, she allowed the tongues to lick at her hands, masking her displeasure as they bathed her in slobber. "I'm trying to get out of here unnoticed!"

Cerberus looked towards the river Styx, which ran along beside them. Across the river, the Gate of the Underworld was clearly visible. Persephone could see the long line of shades waiting at the dock for Charon to ferry them across.

"Poor Charon is probably so tired," she murmured, glancing down the length of the river for the ferryman. From where she was standing, she could not see him. How would she cross the river?

Biting her lip, Persephone glanced from Cerberus to the river to the gate, and back again. She took a few determined steps towards the river, peering down into the water. Other than its odd, purplish color, it looked harmless enough. Hades had never warned her about the Styx…surely, as an immortal, it could not hurt her.

As she was lifting her chiton, preparing to wade into the river, she felt a tug on the cloth. Looking back, she saw Cerberus, a hank of her gown in his mouth. His eyes gave her a warning.

"There's no other way across!" she protested, gesturing at the water. Cerberus shook his heads, whimpering. Persephone watched as the huge dog turned, offering her his back. She blinked in surprise when she realized what he was doing.

"Are you sure? Can you do that?" she asked.

Cerberus merely whined, as if to say, _You're wasting time!_

Persephone clambered up onto the guardian's furry back with little grace, her sandals slipping all the way. When she was finally situated near his neck and holding on, Cerberus waded into the Styx. The water did not touch Persephone as he swam across with her.

When they arrived at the Gate, the dead souls waiting there reached out to Persephone, moaning and crying for mercy. One bark from Cerberus made them back up, crowding together in a dark, incorporeal mass. The spring goddess climbed off the guardian's back and walked straight through the center of them. With Cerberus there, glaring and snarling at them, their ghostly limbs did not even brush her clothing.

* * *

Something white and cold landed on her cheek, startling her. Persephone squinted into the bright light ahead of her, realizing abruptly that it was the light of the world above. But…what was wrong with the sun? Where was its warm yellow rays? She lifted her hand to her cheek, touching the wet coldness that had landed there. When she looked at her finger, she saw a droplet of water.

_Cold rain? _she wondered, continuing her climb up into the cave. _Has flooding been the cause of all the mortal deaths?_

As she got closer, that thought was quickly rejected. If it was flooding, she would have been wading through a pool of water by now. This was something else…

Persephone stepped out of the cave and sank up to her knees in the cold white stuff, crying out in surprise. Then her eyes widened.

Everything on Earth, as far as she could see, was covered in a white blanket. The sky was grey; everything was colorless. And the frozen stuff was still falling from the sky, quickly covering her dark cloak and hair. In her light chiton and sandals, Persephone was freezing.

She didn't know how long she wandered before she finally found a town. She cloaked herself in a glamour, to keep her identity as a goddess concealed. The first mortal she came across was a kindly, middle-aged woman, who graciously took her in to her home to warm up.

Persephone sat gratefully by the fire. "Thank you," she murmured. "May I know your name?"

"It is Philomena, young lady," the woman replied, handing her a bowl of soup.

Persephone smiled, and decided that she would use her old name for now. "I am called Kore."

Philomena _tsk_ed. "Another nameless girl, hmm? One as pretty as you needs a more elegant name…"

"You are very kind, Philomena." Persephone touched the woman's wrinkled hand. "I will only borrow a little of your time…I appreciate the food and the warmth."

Philomena nodded, sitting down beside her.

"I have been away for a long time. How long has the world looked like this?"

"Oh, for a few months now. It started back during harvest time…suddenly all the crops were failing. Every single field in Greece was dying. Then all the flora and fauna began to die as well…the leaves turned yellow and orange and red, and fell from the trees. The birds and bees disappeared. It got colder…and then the snow came."

"Snow?"

Philomena nodded. "That is what we have come to call the frozen rain. Once it started, it never stopped. At least, never long enough for the sun to come back out and warm the land. We have all been praying to Demeter…"

Persephone bit her lip. "And…Demeter has not answered you?"

Philomena shook her head miserably. "It is as if the goddess has abandoned us. I hate to speak of her in such a way, but why has she brought this upon us? So many have died of starvation and of the cold…How many more must die before we see the sun again?"

The goddess gripped the woman's shoulder comfortingly. "Is there a temple here, in this town?"

"Oh, yes. In fact, quite a few months ago, Demeter herself stayed in this town. She was looking for her daughter, who had been taken away from her."

Persephone glanced away. "What happened?"

"She did not reveal herself to us at first. She was disguised as an old woman, and was taken in by our king, Celeus. He put his son, Demaphon, into her care. But when it was discovered that she had been placing Demaphon into the hearth every night, Celeus got rid of her. It was at that point that Demeter revealed herself, quite angry. She explained that she had been burning away Demaphon's mortality to make him a god, as a reward for Celeus' kindness. Now, instead of giving Demaphon godhood, she simply blew away in a storm of fury, and the snow came."

"She sent this snow just because she was thrown out by the king?"

Philomena shrugged. "I think it is because she was missing her own daughter so dearly, and she was attached to Demaphon because he reminded her of her little girl. When Demaphon was ripped away from her, just like her daughter, Demeter again plunged into grief. After she left, the town of Eleusis built her a magnificent temple on our tallest hilltop, and we all go there to pray to her, but she has not answered our prayers…" Philomena's eyes grew sad. "My son passed away last month from the cold…"

Persephone's heart constricted. This was her fault. This woman's son was dead because she hadn't wanted to come home. The entire mortal world was being punished because of Demeter's refusal to let her daughter go. It had been months…Persephone should have come back to talk to her long ago.

"I am so sorry, Philomena. I am sorry you have lost your son…but there may be a way to fix this. Will you take me to Demeter's temple?"

The woman wiped her eyes and nodded. "Of course, child."

* * *

_Thank you so much to my reviewers! I'm glad you're enjoying the stories so far and I will be updating fairly frequently. _


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